Alvinne Mano Negra

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Imperial Stout
Moen, Belgium

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

33cl bottle. At first is just froth with very little beer, really infuriating to open it up and see you lost 1/4 part of the beer because the rest lies on the floor. After waiting 30 minutes aprox., it’s deep dark brown in colour with light brown head (nice). The aroma is soft cocoa, caramel, hints of red grape and vanilla. The taste is quite similar to cookies, but there’s something like mellow wine as well. Maybe hints of chocolate, insignificant though. Medium mouthfeel, extremely overcarbonated even if waiting so long. Not a good beer at all, sorry.

Bottle 33cl, a dark beer with low amber head. Nose is on dark chocolate with a smoked touch. Aroma is on dark malt dark chocolate, coffee, slightly vinous, vanilla, caramel, toffee, smiked notes. Good complexity and texture, nice beer. Long sweet caramel aftertaste,

Første øl på haandbryggeriets ølfestival- God start. Nydelig øl, fløyelsmyk. alkoholen er godt kamuflert.

Licht rokerige neus, bitter zoete afdronk, beetje dark chocolade, hint van koffie. Volmondig en zeer lange, aangename volle afdronk. Heel lekker!!

Bottle@home. Black with a huge four finger foam. The nougat brown head just keep pouring out if the bottle. Intense licorice green grass clover and a peppery spicy aromas. Medium bitter sweet. Strong body. Long finish. Highly carbonated. Very nice.

Nice and black, with lots of sediment. Huge brownish frothy head. Aroma is alcohol, chocolate and coffee with a little bit of roastyness. Full body beer with lots of carbonation. Flavour is a little bit off good amounts of chocolate and coffee.

According to an extensive statistical survey (performed by myself during the last three days), 2/3 of all beers from Alvinne are gushers, and the Mano Negra definitely falls into the gushing category. In the glass the black body looks murky and disgusting, with ridiculous amounts of sediments of all sizes (on my living room table the beer just looks messy). The huge head is frothy and full of sediments, and it therefore has a spotty medium brown colour. The froth is rather long-lived and leaves some lacing, but a dirty looking beer that requires a cloth will never get a generous Appearance score from me. The aroma is strong with noticeable sour elements. The funky notes are in front together with tart berries and in the back there are more usual roasted notes and coffee. The taste is light sweet, light sour and the long-lasting finish is moderate bitter. The wild notes are better integrated in the flavours than in the aroma, in the flavours the sourness acts more like a funky barnyard background with tart berries, while heavily roasted notes and coffee are now in front. The alcohol is completely hidden. It feels a bit too thin for the style, the texture is too dominated by yeasty dryness and the carbonation is moderate to lively and not very fitting. This one would probably have been a lot better if the carbonation was right, but I must say I find the sour hints very pleasing.
[33 cl bottle, enjoyed 18 months before BB date, from Vinmonopolet Vika, Oslo]

Bottle. A real gusher. Pours pitch black, with an enormous, seemingly ever evolving mocha head. Aroma is quite funky with yeast and coffee, as well as some nice sweet whiffs of chocolate. Not your everyday dark brew. Body is full, with soft carbonation. Flavour is sweet with roasted malts and chocolate, and as it lingers on nice notes of leather, tobacco and vanilla comes forth. A pleasant surprise!

tap @ Borefts - taken from notes - pours light black with tiny head. Aroma of roasted and smoked malts, some peat, leather. Medium body.

33cl bottle from Vinmonopolet, Vika. Pours black with some sediments and a light brown head. Gusher - didn’t manage to get all of it in glasses, some went in the sink. Roasty aroma with yeast and notes of chocolate, coffee and dark fruits/berries. Surprisingly light body and quite easy to drink too. Well integrated alcohol. Moderate sweet with a roasty and slightly dry finish. Nice lightly bitter aftertaste. (2013-03-30)